Display stand



Patented Mar. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPLAY STAND Alfred D. Mosby, Moline, Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, to American Machine & Metals, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application June 15, 1935, Serial No. 26,762

Claims. (01. 40--- 125) This invention relates to display racks. .It is an object of this invention to provide a bill poster of economical and efficient construction in which the materials to be displayed may be 5 inserted and removed without tearing and which nevertheless may be held in a taut position to present a good appearance. It is a further object to provide a display rack in which bill posters or the like may be held for display without need for employing any adhesive. Another object is to provide an object of the character described which may be manufactured economically and which may be manipulated with ease.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in

which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a device embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the removable frame by which the display material is held in place.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the device during the process of inserting the display material.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modification of the device.

Fig. 7 is a section along the lines 1'l of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a fragmental view showing the lock ing arrangement.

In the drawing the numerals lil-I0 represent two substantially rectangular frames pivoted together at H and having feet l2-I2. A strap [3 extending from one frame I 0 to the other, braces the frames Ii] at a proper distance to form a triangular stand in the usual manner.

The members II! are substantially alike and one only need be described.

Mounted upon the frame is a fiat rectangular sheet l4, having each of its ends l5 bent backwardly upon itself to form a U-shaped recess IS. A rectangular frame comprising side bars l1, and end bars l8, to hold the display material, (which for convenience may be referred to as a poster) in place.

These sidemembers I! are both elastically fiexibleand the'end members l8 are very much smaller in thickness than the width of the recess I6, and are so placed on the members I! that when the lower member i8 is within the lower recess If, the upper member l8 reaches substantially to the top of the upper recess Hi.

The side members IT are preferably bowed inwardly as shown in Fig. 4, so that when the upper and lower ends I8 are confined within their respective recesses l6,.the side members I! will bear resiliently against the sides of the poster to hold itin place.

When the side members are bowed as shown in Fig. 4, it is not necessary to provide any retaining means to hold the parts in place but when such means are desired there may be provided upon the center of each side bar IT a latch l9 pivoted at 20 and havin-g'a projection 2| adapted to fit within a hole 22 the sides of the frame It.

I have found in the manufacture of display racks of this type that the recesses It must be much wider than the thickness of the bars M3 to afford a substantial clearance in order that when the rectangular frame is being inserted in place, the ends of the poster may, if necessary, slip around the ends of the frame after the poster has become taut to prevent the poster tearing at that point.

In using the device, the frame work II] is set in position and the poster is laid over the rectangular member I4 in substantially its final position. Thereupon one end I8 of the removable frame is inserted into its recess in either top or bottom, whichever is the more convenient, carrying the ends of the poster with it and holding it in place. The center of the rectangular frame may now be bowed outwardly against'its own resilience, and the other end member 18, with the free end of the poster bent over, it may be snapped into the other recess.

During the initial portion of this motion, the poster is stretched over the surface l4. As soon, however, as the poster is taut the remaining motion of the member 18 is accompanied by a slipping of the end of the poster around the end bar Hi. In this manner, the poster is quickly and easily tightened into place without danger of tearing. When the rectangular frame has been put in place, the latches l8 may be closed to fasten it there.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, the side bars ll of the rectangular frame are bowed outwardly at the center so that both ends I8 of the frame may bear against the poster; thus as the center is pressed inwardly and locked by the latches IS, the poster is stretched and held taut.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A display rack comprising in combination a rectangular frame, a backing material upon said rectangular frame, longitudinal recesses at opposite sides of said backing material, and a frame work for holding display material within said recesses, comprising end bars of a thickness materially less than the width of said recesses, and side bars of resilient material, and bowed outwardly at the ends, whereby when the display material is inserted in the frame said side bars will bear resiliently upon the sides of said posters when the end bars are held within said recesses.

2. A display rack comprising in combination a rectangular frame, a backing material upon said rectangular frame, longitudinal recesses at opposite sides of said backing material, and a frame work for holding display material within said recesses, comprising end bars of a thickness materially less than the Width of said recesses, and side bars of resilient material, and centrally disposed latches in said side bars.

3. A display stand consisting of a pair of display racks hinged together at their tops, a flat rectangular member adapted to receive a poster attached to each of said racks and having its ends bent back upon itself to form recesses upon the front side, a frame work comprising end bars and side bars connected to said end bars and adapted to space said end bars causing them to fit within said recesses, said recesses being materially wider than the thickness of the end bars onthe frame, whereby when a paper poster is inserted within the recess by means of the end bars it may slip around the end of the end bars without tearing the paper.

4. A display stand consisting of a pair of display racks hinged together at their tops, each comprising in combination a rectangular frame, a backing material upon said rectangular frame, longitudinal recesses at opposite sides of said backing material, and a frame work for holding display material within said recesses, comprising end bars of a thickness materially less than the width of said recesses, and side bars of resilient material, and bowed outwardly at the ends, whereby when the display material is inserted in the frame said side bars will bear resiliently upon the sides of said posters when the end bars are held within said recesses.

5. A display stand consisting of a pair of display racks hinged together at their tops, each comprising in combination a rectangular frame, a backing material upon said rectangular frame, longitudinal recesses at opposite sides of said backing material, and a frame work for holding display material within said recesses, comprising end bars of a thickness materially less than the width of said recesses, and side bars of resilient material, and centrally disposed latches in said side bars.

A. D. MOSBY. 

